Chapter Forty-Six
Maya studied her surroundings. The lake was calm. No wind. The water on the shore barely moved. The air was still smoky but
seemed a little less hazy. Maybe without the wind, the fire was dying down. But even so, without a breeze, she felt almost
claustrophobic in the quiet day. Usually at this altitude, the air was thin and crisp, not heavy. But what worried Maya was
who else was out there. And Hope hadn’t followed directions and was still hiding in the cliffs.
Maya fingered her shoulder mic. She needed to call in their location to dispatch and the change of place to meet the helicopter.
It would be good to let everyone know they were okay, and get to the landing zone to get picked up. Then she could hand Abigail
off.
But from what she knew about Abigail’s partner, being in law enforcement, he too would be smart enough to have a radio and
would know the channels they were using for this specific emergency. There was no cell service to call Kessler or Josh. Josh?
Was he okay? Maya didn’t know. She’d learned in battle to shove thoughts aside. If you allowed them, you were distracted just
like she was right now.
Snap out of it, Thompson. You need to get to cover in case Abigail’s partner is there and you need to protect Hope.
Maya finally called dispatch. She relayed their position and the change in location to meet the helicopter. If Abigail’s partner
was listening, he now knew where they were. Exactly. That meant she needed to get out of the open and have Abigail with her.
If Abigail’s partner arrived, he had some good options of places to hide and shoot them. The lake was down in a bowl-like
area. Most of the landscape around them was higher. It gave someone an advantage when it came to a good rifle shot.
Unfortunately, the best place to take cover was over by Hope, but bringing her kidnapper over and having them even near each
other wasn’t a good idea. Getting shot at wasn’t a good idea either though.
She wanted to head to where the helicopter would meet them. That would put them out in the open walking the shoreline. Maya
knew she needed to decide fast. Getting out of here quickly seemed like the best option, but based on Hope’s body language,
the girl was literally frozen in place with fear. Maya figured she was going to have to go over there and get her to come
with them. She would never leave any victim, but especially not Hope. Even though she realized she didn’t know her niece well,
Maya already felt attached. She was surprised at the mama bear instincts coming out. She would always do her best to keep
Hope safe.
“Let’s go,” she said, shoving Abigail ahead of her. Juniper was by Maya’s side, a small growl coming out of her throat, which
was her way of telling Abigail she’d love nothing more than to bite her again.
“You’re being a good girl,” Maya said to her dog. She was watching Juniper’s body language. If Abigail’s partner showed up, Juniper might be able to smell or sense him first. She took Abigail in the direction of Hope. The girl was still huddled with her knees pulled into her chest.
“Hope,” Maya said, gently. “Look at me.”
Hope raised her head and when she saw Abigail, fear washed across her face.
Abigail smiled. “That’s right, I’m still here.”
Maya had been holding Abigail’s arm below where Juniper bit her. Seeing Abigail still trying to intimidate Hope, Maya moved
her hand up a little bit, putting pressure on one of the areas Juniper tore up. Abigail made a small noise in pain. “Don’t
speak to her. Don’t look at her. I have no problem letting Juniper hang off your arm again. She’d be happy to do it.”
Juniper gave a low, guttural growl in agreement. Hope’s eyes went wide at the change in Maya’s tone. Maya realized that she
needed to keep Abigail away from Hope. She took Abigail over to another area that separated her from Hope. Maya shoved her
down and double-checked that the cuffs were tight. “Juniper. Guard.”
The Mal happily stood and stared at Abigail. She licked her lips in anticipation of another possible bite. Maya was a little
worried leaving Juniper with Abigail. Juniper knew that if she could get Abigail to move or even startle, it would give her
an excuse to apprehend her. And probably drag her back into the lake.
Maya watched for a second or two. Sometimes Juniper would poke her nose at someone to get them to react and even though Maya wouldn’t mind seeing Abigail bit again, she didn’t feel like going back into the water.
After a few minutes, Maya left Abigail, satisfied that Juniper wasn’t going to play the nose poking game. She also knew that
the Mal would guard better than Maya would herself. She walked over to where Hope was and crouched down, hoping to get the
girl to relax a bit.
“I’m sorry,” Hope said as tears welled up in her eyes. “I know I was supposed to go, but I was so scared. I know I shouldn’t
be. I’m fourteen already. I should be braver.”
“No apologies,” Maya said. “And I remember being fourteen. I thought I knew everything, but you know what? I didn’t. There
have been so many times I’ve been scared in my life.”
“You have? But you’re like my uncle. You’re a law enforcement officer. You have to be brave.”
Maya shrugged. “Well, we try to be brave, but that doesn’t always mean that you are. Your uncle ever mention a slang term
called the pucker factor?”
That got Hope to smile and even give a little laugh. “Yeah, he has.”
“You know what that means, right?”
“I do,” Hope said. “And it’s so gross!”
Maya laughed. “It is. It’s crass. Sometimes cops have a warped sense of humor, but we develop that because of the things we
see and do and sometimes those things scare us.”
Hope stared down at her hands then back up at Maya. “Now that you have Abigail, are you going to walk her to where the helicopter is going to meet us?”
“Yes. I know she’s trying to intimidate you, but do you think you can come with us? I don’t want to leave you behind.”
“Is Juniper coming too? I feel safer with her.”
Maya smiled and answered, “Juniper is always with me. I feel safer with her too.”
“Okay, then I’ll ignore my pucker factor and go with you,” Hope said, standing up. Her legs shook a little.
Maya figured it was both fatigue and fear. “Come with me. I’ll make sure Abigail is in front of me and can’t see you. Okay?”
“Okay. Where will Juniper be?”
“Probably by my side, but she can be near you too,” Maya said.
“As long as I can see her, I’m good.”
Maya walked ahead of Hope and went back to where Juniper was waiting. Her dog was staring down Abigail, and every now and
then continuing to lick her lips. Abigail was smart enough not to stare Juniper back. Juniper was well-trained and wanted
to protect and please her handler. But instincts could override that and Maya knew that if Abigail looked Juniper in the eye,
that might make the dog snap and go after her again.
“Release,” Maya said to Juniper. The Mal glanced quickly at Maya. Her golden eyes asked if she could possibly take just one
more bite. Juniper realized Maya wasn’t going to let her and backed off, but not far.
Maya hoisted Abigail to her feet and made sure she kept her promise to Hope that Abigail would be ahead of them. She double-checked the cuffs and they all headed out along the shoreline.
About halfway across, Maya peered around. Her heart was pounding. They were exposed here. A perfect place for a sniper shot.
There was nowhere to duck for cover because of the drop-off at the tree line. Maya felt like they were being watched. Something
was off. The image of Aaron’s H.O.G. tattoo came into her mind. Was he waiting?
Juniper suddenly whirled around and started growling.
Maya shoved Hope behind her, scanning the ridge for a sign of anyone. All she saw were some new flames as the fire continued
creeping toward them. There was no movement in the tree line. Maya tried to see where her dog was looking.
Abigail stood to her side and said, “Told you I wasn’t going to prison.”
Then a shot rang out.